Motor racing-Wurz marks decade in Formula One with a podium
Linked from http://uk.reuters.com/article/motorSportsNews/idUKL1037626020070610
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Austrian Alexander Wurz celebrated the 10th anniversary of his Formula One debut with an unexpected podium finish in Canada on Sunday.
"It's still a dream. I had a difficult weekend, never found the rhythm, but hey, if you just keep pushing..." said the Williams driver after starting 19th on the grid.
"I'm super happy with third, exactly on my 10th year anniversary. It's a bit kitsch, but I'll take it."
Wurz made his grand prix debut as a stand-in with Benetton at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 1997 and was returning to the Montreal track for the first time since 2000 -- his last full season before this year.
Sunday's race, with the Austrian on a one-stop strategy aided by the repeated intervention of the safety car, was his first podium finish since 2005 when he was third as a McLaren stand-in.
However, he actually finished fourth on the track at Imola that time, inheriting third place long after the San Marino Grand Prix podium ceremony when Briton Jenson Button was disqualified.
The Austrian's last actual appearance on the Formula One podium was at Silverstone in 1997.
Wurz's race on Sunday was made even harder by a clash with a Toro Rosso that damaged part of his rear wing early on.
"It cost me a lot of top speed," he said. "But the wing structure was intact. They checked it at my one stop so I could just push right to the end."
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Austrian Alexander Wurz celebrated the 10th anniversary of his Formula One debut with an unexpected podium finish in Canada on Sunday.
"It's still a dream. I had a difficult weekend, never found the rhythm, but hey, if you just keep pushing..." said the Williams driver after starting 19th on the grid.
"I'm super happy with third, exactly on my 10th year anniversary. It's a bit kitsch, but I'll take it."
Wurz made his grand prix debut as a stand-in with Benetton at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 1997 and was returning to the Montreal track for the first time since 2000 -- his last full season before this year.
Sunday's race, with the Austrian on a one-stop strategy aided by the repeated intervention of the safety car, was his first podium finish since 2005 when he was third as a McLaren stand-in.
However, he actually finished fourth on the track at Imola that time, inheriting third place long after the San Marino Grand Prix podium ceremony when Briton Jenson Button was disqualified.
The Austrian's last actual appearance on the Formula One podium was at Silverstone in 1997.
Wurz's race on Sunday was made even harder by a clash with a Toro Rosso that damaged part of his rear wing early on.
"It cost me a lot of top speed," he said. "But the wing structure was intact. They checked it at my one stop so I could just push right to the end."
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